Yamba 2014 - Day 11

It was a lazy day.

Slept in until 9:30am ... who does that?

Made it to Latitude 29 for a late morning tea of chocolate dripping inside and outside her hot chocolate and my mocha. I exchanged pleasantries with our barrister while Sue went instead for lewd and lascivious.

Main Beach and a few minutes with family members before being talking into a hot chocolate and mocha at Pippis Cafe. More fun and games and stories. The family stories really are the best.

Back on our own again and before long we were down into the town again and trying the BeachWood Cafe for the first time. Given the reputation Sevtap Yuce (SBS TV and books) has established for lovely fresh flavours and a cuisine influenced by her background but grounded in her environment, I expected a lot of the place. Certainly her personal welcoming was a strong feature of our dining experience but call me old fashioned or certainly lacking in trend but sitting on wooden boxes isn't my thing. Neither are rickety tables perched together on a crowded waking space. Some might call it atmosphere but I'd call it too small a space and placing your customers in the streetscape as a cheap alternative to providing a dining space. Granted, the food was good. My lamb koftes and their accompanying sauce were still being enjoyed as I licked them from the corners of my mouth and my companions chilli garlic prawns (local, of course) were smothered in a delightfully light dressing. Service was good, although a little hovering and in need of approval for my liking.

To cap the experience, there was not only no eftpos or card facilities but also no attempt to inform diners of the fact before ordering. The plethora of younger diners from Sydney who raved about us did their best to intimidate me into believing my hard bum and space consciousness was uncalled for. Good try but no such luck. Not for me.

Somewhat disgruntled, we paid a visit to the Story House Museum, which has been extended since our last wander through and on this occasion featured a small but fine display of aboriginal art. Its a well organised museum, with lots of photos, all well labelled and plenty of information about local history.

After gathering a few things to contribute to dinner, we went for the obligatory sunset drinks at the Pacific Hotel and met a couple from Brisbane who were just completing their first tourist day in Yamba. We only had an hour to chat but we made the most of it.

The evening was spent with Sue's sister Mandy and her husband Joel and their eight year old twins Ava and Jack. I had been enjoying conversation with the ladies but a descent into ladies handbags and Diana Ferrari shoes drove me from the table and into the arms of Joel, Jack and the football. We left at half time, but not before Joel managed a backflip into the glass-topped coffee table as Manly scored. Cuts, abrasions and a shattered coffee table top.

My mantle as the king of calamity has finally been shattered ... so to speak.